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subukunojess · 4 years

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Courage

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Bad Things Happen Bingo @badthingshappenbingo Trope/Prompt: Touch Starved Fandom: Courage the Cowardly Dog Main Character: Courage Triggers: Slight mentions of Animal Abuse/mistreatment Word Count: 1,487

My next entry for the angst bingo I signed up for years ago. Hopefully it'll help me with my writing and get me to practice more. When I searched for Touch Starved, it took me a while until I realized that the only character I could think of that could fit that category would be a character from my childhood, Courage the Cowardly Dog. I remembered how the episode "Remembrance of Courage Past" moved me and I wanted to write a short but sweet one shot of that memory in Courage's point of view. I have not written for Courage before and I found it challenging to keep with the prompt while also keeping in character. Hopefully this is okay. Story under the cut:

What did he do?

What did he do?!

The little pink dog scrambled out of the dumpster he was dropped into, his mind and heart racing as he tried to calm down. He found himself in a city alleyway surrounded by brick walls and trash cans. As he stood up in worry, he suddenly froze as he heard a countdown blaring in his mind and the sound of something big opening nearby. He turned his head to the direction of the sound, only to gasp as the roof of a building opened up and a rocket started blasting off into the sky.

Now the puppy remembered.

He was at the Vet's office with his parents after getting his head stuck in a metal fence while playing catch. Everything was normal at first; the veterinarian got his head unstuck and gave him a lollipop, then went to talk to his parents. The puppy, although scared, assumed that the man was going to ask questions about him and give advice before he and his family left for home. That seemed like a normal thing to do when talking to a doctor.

Until he heard his parents scream.

The world came to a complete stop when the little dog turned and stared as his parents dangled inside a large net with the vet carrying them behind his back to another room. What was happening? This was supposed to be a veterinarian. A doctor. Someone you trust with your health. How could a person like that kidnap his parents?

He had no time to think. He ran after the human, determined to save his parents no matter what. He went through several doors until he snuck into an office where the veterinarian was taking his family to an actual giant rocket on the other side of a window. The puppy remembered watching rockets on television screens. He had seen scary films about aliens and news reports about people flying to the moon. This man was sending his parents to outer space? Not if the puppy could do anything about it.

He saw the man throw the two dogs into the rocket, shut the door, then walked back to a control panel when the countdown began. 60. 59. 58...

Quickly, the pink canine rushed towards the rocket and jumped towards the door where he could see his parents through a little window, scared as they were calling for help and looking for a way out. He saw their big worried eyes making contact with his and his heart broke. He tried opening the door. He really did. But there was nor knob or key.

"Hey, what are you doing there?!" The veterinarian boomed as he entered the room and loomed over the pup. The puppy screamed in terror and ran away in circles, trying desperately to avoid the large intimidating from catching him and throwing him into the rocket as well or something worse. He noticed red arrows pointing to a metal drawer, so he ran and clambered into it, sliding down a chute just as ten gangling fingers almost grabbed him by the waist.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

That was how the pink puppy found himself surrounded by trash as he waved goodbye to his family from beyond the clouds with tears welling up in his eyelids until they trickled out to the rough pavement.

This wasn't a bad dream he could wake up from. This was a living nightmare.

This was his punishment for getting into trouble. For not being brave enough. For choosing to survive rather than help his parents or join them so they could still be a family. For not knowing what to do at a time like this. Before, his parents always forgiven him whenever he had made a mistake or got too scared. They would kiss him if he hurt himself and give him big hugs. They would encourage him to do tasks by himself, congratulating him when he did them and reassuring him when he didn't. His father would scratch him behind his ears. His mother would curl up around him with her body when he had a nightmare. His parents always knew what to do. And now they were gone.

The pink dog didn't know how long he was in the alleyway. Minutes? Hours? Days?

He wanted someone to scoop him up in their arms, hold him close, and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But who could he trust? Anyone could be a monster willing to hurt him. To turn on him and do who knew what. He sat huddled by trash cans as he trembled, squirming around and hugging himself to quell his craving for contact. No family. No home. Cold. Hungry. Guilty.

The puppy wailed at the top of his lungs, almost hoping that his sobs would be loud enough to travel to outer space so that his parents would hear him. For anyone to hear him.

And someone did.

"Oh my! What are you doing out here all alone?" A mature feminine voice called out, dripping with concern and an accent. The young dog glanced to see a large woman walking towards him. She had long brown hair and circular glasses on as well as dark boots and a large dark green coat that reached her ankles. He whimpered, trembling as the woman got closer to him. A part of him didn't want to stay. For all he knew, the human would lead him to a secret lair or something. He couldn't trust strangers. And yet, a part of him sensed that the woman was not evil or scary. A part of him wanted comfort no matter the danger. So when the woman loomed over him, he simply stared at her and raised his paws to be scooped up.

Warm plush hands soft as wool held his sides and lifted him into the air. If he weren't so weak and wary, he would have snuggled into her arms or lean closer to her touch. But he couldn't. Any moment now, she would see how pathetic he was and drop him. He stared at her and waited with trembling wide eyes and dried tears.

Instead of a scowl, a tight grip to make his bones pop, or his face smacked against a brick wall, he was met with a soft grin as the woman gasped, "What courage you have!"

Courage? This woman must be mistaken. There was nothing courageous about him. Period. He ran away when his family needed him most. He cried and ran away from anything nearly everyday of his life. 'Coward' was the more appropriate word to describe him.

And yet, she seemed like an honest woman. Her face looked round and gentle like the fluffiest pillow in the world. Her hair seemed like a mix of chocolate and cotton candy you'd find at a county fair. She smelled of home cooking and blankets sewn by hand with care. Most of all, the eyes that hid behind the protection of her glasses glimmered in truth and positivity. He didn't consider himself a special creature, but at that moment, he knew that his keen senses were telling him to trust her.

"My name is Muriel." The woman introduced herself, "Would you like to come home with me?"

It was because of her touch and gaze that made the puppy smile as he hugged the closest arm to him. Muriel's smile grew as her arms wrapped around his waist in a firm embrace.

"I'll call you 'Courage'. We'll have a grand time!" She promised him before heading off to take him home in a green pick-up truck across the street.

Courage let himself get lost at the touch of Muriel's arms, sinking into the warmth even when she got into the truck and gently placed him to her side. He never stopped touching her lap for anything. Although no one could replace his family, this woman was a welcoming close second. He thought about the days he'd spend with his new owner. Perhaps she'll feed him good meals and they do chores or crafts together. Maybe they'll spend their quiet days rocking back and forth with him curled up on her lap. They would grow old together and he'll help her around the house. He'll protect her. If there were monsters out there in the world, he was determined to protect one of the good humans in the world even if it meant his life. But he didn't think too much of it for now.

Courage lifted his head up after a while and watched as acres of sand and dirt zipped right by before his eyes. It was just miles of nothing. He glanced to the front to see a little house and a windmill coming over the horizon. A house in the middle of nowhere away from people? Yes. This was home to Courage.

#Courage #Courage the Cowardly Dog #fanfiction #SNJstories #Bad Things Happen Bingo #badthingshappenbingo #Muriel #touch starved #cw: animal cruelty #cw: thoughts of animal abuse #Remembrance of Courage Past

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chibinightowl · 6 years

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Mermen Jason and Dick with human Tim, please

Hello, anon! You didn’t give me much to work with here, so have some merboys and their human friend, Timmy. Fluff and light angst ahead!

~*~*~

Tim glanced around as he walked down the beach, checking to see if anyone was paying much attention to him as he made his way further and further from the more populated areas. Not that it was a crowded beach, especially this early in the morning, but privacy was a must considering who he was meeting up with. He hasn’t seen his friends since last summer and while he can’t wait to see them again, he also knew that not everyone would understand why the Drake heir was friends with two merboys.He suspected Mrs. Mac knew what he was up to and who he would be with. She was scary smart like that and it explained the extra sandwiches, cookies, and juice boxes she put in his backpack. Tim was fairly certain she didn’t know Dick and Jason weren’t human. This was Mrs. Mac though, so it probably wouldn’t faze her in the slightest if he introduced them. She was cool like that, even if she was old.The sandy beach soon grew more pebbled underfoot and a rocky cliff rose up to his right, altering the stretch of sand into something less habitable for people. Jagged rocks appeared in the water and the waves broke around them. Tim climbed up some boulders blocking his path, old and worn and probably from the same landslide that send those rocks out into the ocean. An old warning sign sat crooked in the sand about uneven ground, but Tim was small and nimble and doubted his 60 pound frame would do much to shift things around. His water shoes provided enough traction for him to scramble up and over the slippery stone. After several yards, Tim dropped down heavily onto the sand on the other side. It was like a different world here. Tidal pools ringed the edge of the cliff, shallow and rocky during low tide. There was a narrow sandbar against the back of the pools where high tide brushed the cliff walls, but Tim wasn’t worried about the tide, not with two merboys for friends. Their names weren’t really Dick and Jason, but they were the closest approximation Tim’s human vocal cords could make of the series of clicks and hisses that made up their actual names.The tide was mostly out right now, so Tim set his pack on the sand and withdrew a carved shell whistle that he had strung on a cord to wear around his neck. Jason had given it to him three years ago, telling him that when he came back to blow it in the water so that he and Dick would know to come.

It’s worked every time.Tim picked his way out along the tide pools to where the waves lapped at the edge of the rocky shelf. Blowing the whistle in the sheltered pools didn’t do any good. It needed open water where sound could travel. He knelt on the rock and small waves lapped at his knees. Taking a deep breath, Tim stuck his face in the water, raised the whistle to his lips, and blew hard. A high pitched sound emerged, echoing oddly in the crash of the surf. Only one blow of whistle was needed, so Tim resurfaced and scooted back a little ways to wait. Last year it had taken two solid hours for his friends to arrive while the first year it had barely been thirty minutes. The sun was higher in the sky and Tim had started exploring the tide pools when he heard an excited shout from the water behind him.Turning, he spotted Dick waving wildly from the edge of the shelf. “Timmy! You’re back!” The merboy was a few years older than Tim and didn’t seem to care in the slightest that he was friends with a younger boy. Tim thought he was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. Inky black hair, pale skin, and leanly muscled, Dick would have caught anyone’s attention if he were human. But it was his inhuman features that caught Tim’s eye, like his pointed ears, webbed fingers and sharp claws, and the ridge of scales that ran over his shoulders and down his back. And his fins…Tim swore that one day, he’d find the right color combination of blue and green and black to paint his bedroom walls with. It was such a vibrant and rich color and he couldn’t wait for Dick to climb onto the rocks and into the shallow tide pools so he could see it again. “Dick!” Tim said with a shout, rushing to greet his friend. The merboy caught Tim by the ankle and hauled him into the water, catching hold of him in a tight hug. “You’ve been gone so long this time!” he said, nuzzling into Tim’s hair. “It felt longer than a year.”“I know,” Tim agreed, returning the hug with enthusiasm. He didn’t get a lot of hugs at home except from Mrs. Mac and if there was one thing he knew about Dick, it was that he loved giving them. Jason was always shoving him off, but it was playful rather than mean. “Mom and Dad didn’t want us to come this year, but Mrs. Mac and I eventually won out. That’s why we’re late.”He didn’t say that this was going to be the last time he’d be able to come for a while, possibly even years, because he was going away for school this fall. Nope, that was for later. “I’ll catch you something nice to give her to eat,” Dick said, nodding firmly. “I’m so glad you’re here finally. Jason has been annoying the last few moons, wondering when you’d come.” “Where is he?” Tim asked, twisting around to try and spot the other black haired boy. Sharp claws started tickling his leg and Tim kicked out of reflex, connecting solidly with something below the surface. “Ow!” Jason said, scowling as he rose above the waves, teal eyes flashing in annoyance. “Take a joke, why don’t cha?” Tim scrambled out of Dick’s grip and swam over to the other boy, who promptly dragged him into another big hug. Jason was always very tactile with him, even if he wasn’t with Dick. “You’re late,” Jason muttered into Tim’s hair, his dagger-like nails digging a little too firmly into Tim’s ribs. His t-shirt would have new holes in it. “I’m sorry,” Tim replied, clutching Jason around the neck. “It’s not like I can come and go as I please.”“Stupid human rules,” the merboy said, releasing Tim and helping him back to the rocks where it wasn’t so deep. “You should just come live with us.”Dick nodded in agreement. “We’re old enough to be on our own and you’re not much younger than us. We can take care of you until you’re bigger and have all your adult teeth.” The mer bared his to emphasize his point, revealing sharp fangs perfect for slashing and piercing flesh. Jason poked at Tim’s mouth, trying to look inside. “Do you have all your teeth?” Tim jerked his head away. “Of course, I do!” Mostly. He didn’t think they meant adult molars.“I dunno, your fangs are really dull.” “He’s human, Jay,” Dick reminded him. “Their teeth are different. Remember that ship we explored and found those human skeletons in? All their teeth were like Tim’s.” “You explored a sunken ship? Wow.” That sounded so cool. “All I did this year was go to school and attend boring parties when my parents were home.”

Tim hauled himself back up onto the rocks. Unless there was a way into the tide pools, he’d stay here with Dick and Jason until the waves got a little higher and they could all explore the area. There was always something new and Tim remembered his snorkel so he could breathe properly this year. It looked like Dick and Jason had grown in the last year; they were bigger than he remembered, so they probably needed to wait longer.

Dick stayed in the water, but Jason ducked back underneath the waves before surging out to come to a rest beside Tim. His coppery red scales glistened in the sunlight, but that was not what caught Tim’s attention.

“What happened?” he asked, cringing at the long white scar than ran down Jason’s back and onto his tail. It was huge.

Jason scowled and looked away. “I got a little too close to a boat.”

“Too close, my fins,” Dick retorted. “You almost died. I thought I was going to lose you. That propeller ripped you apart.”

What? No. No, no, no. Tim’s eyes squeezed shut, hands clenching into fists as he tried to process the news. His friend almost died in the last year and he hadn’t known. He wouldn’t have known, not until just now if it had only been Dick who came to see him. There would have been no more of Jason’s crooked smiles or practical jokes. No more of him picking seaweed out of his and Dick’s hair or those little crabs they all enjoyed snacking on that only he was able to find.

Arms wrapped themselves around his waist and he opened his eyes to see Jason pressed against him with his head in Tim’s lap. “Hey. Don’t cry, Tim. I’m okay now.”

“You almost died!” Tim rubbed at his eyes, not realizing he was in fact crying until now. “And I didn’t know because I wasn’t here!”

“Yet another reason why you need to stay here with us all the time,” Jason said, like the answer was as simple as that.

This wasn’t the first time the merboys had made these kinds of comments. They wanted Tim to stay with them, to live and explore the coastal waters as they did. To his mind, it was the perfect life. No more school, no more parties and stupid suits that he hated wearing. He could do what he wanted and just be happy with what each day brought.

But this kind of life wasn’t for him. Not with who he was. He was the heir to everything his parents worked hard for, even if he didn’t want any of it.

Tim sniffed and wiped his runny nose on his arm. “I can’t just leave though. If I run away, people will look for me.” Mom and Dad may not always be around, but if Mrs. Mac reported him missing, they’d move heaven and earth to get him back, even if it was only for appearances.

“We can hide you where you’ll never be found,” Dick said, catching hold of Tim’s hand with his webbed fingers. “Under the surface, no one can find us if we don’t them to.”

It was so tempting to be with people who actually wanted him for who he was. “But I can’t breathe down there,” Tim said. “Not for long anyway.” He’d need a tank of air and a mask, not to mention fins and a scuba suit. These weren’t exactly things an almost eleven year old boy could just buy.

Jason hugged him tighter. “We can breathe for you, silly.”

Dick nodded enthusiastically in agreement. “I learned from a siren and then I showed Jason.”

How that was supposed to work, Tim had no idea. “But, but how can I speak? I suck at your language.”

They spent a good amount of time in the water every summer, above and beneath it. Tim was a fantastic swimmer as a result, better than anyone ever expected of him, but he still had no more than a rudimentary grasp of the mer tongue. The hisses and clicks and whistles were hard for him to form underwater, especially since he couldn’t suck in water and blow it out through a set of gills like his friends.

The merboys closed their mouths and shared a confused look. “Uh, shoot,” Dick replied, bobbing higher in the water as a larger wave hit the rocks. “Okay, so we have to figure that one out still.”

“I also can’t live in the water all the time like you guys can,” Tim added. “My body just isn’t adapted for it.” He’d learned about evolution recently in school and he had spent more than one night wondering where exactly the merfolk branched off and ended up in the ocean rather than on land.

Jason made a face and curled closer to Tim, burying into the wet t-shirt clinging to his thin frame. “We know that,” he said, sounding somewhat muffled. “It would just be temporary until they stopped lookin’.”

Tim sighed and rested his free hand in Jason’s damp hair. He loved his friends, he really did. They were more constant in his life than his parents were, than anybody was. Except for Mrs. Mac, but they both knew that as soon as Tim got old enough and could take care of himself that she’d be gone.

He sighed heavily, debating about if he should speak up now about not coming back next year. Waiting wasn’t going to do any good; in fact, Tim already knew that Jason would throw a fit over it while Dick glommed onto him and refused to let go. Suddenly, he had an idea.

“Let’s make a promise,” Tim announced. “When I’m grown up and can do whatever I want, I’ll come back and live here all the time. Then we can always be together.”

It was like the sun shone even brighter as Dick’s grin lit up his face and Jason sat up, his gaze intent on Tim. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” Tim nodded firmly. One day, his life would be his own and he could fulfill his own dreams rather than those of his parents. He’d be back, he knew it.

Jason tugged at the whistle hanging from Tim’s neck. “Swear on this,” he said.

“Swear on your blood,” Dick added. He let go of Tim’s hand to drag a sharp nail down the center of his palm.

It hurt, especially with the sting of salt water entering the wound, but Tim wrapped his bloodied hand of the shell. He could have sworn he felt it grow warmer. “I swear I will come back. No matter what happens.”

Dick cut his own hand and laid it over Tim’s, his blood darker and colder against his skin. “I swear that I will be here when you return.”

Jason took it one step further and bit his hand. Blood ran down the corner of his mouth as he wrapped his fingers around them both. “I swear that I’ll be here waiting for you, Tim. Not even death will stop me.”

There was no mistaking the surge of warmth that rushed through Tim’s veins as their vows were spoken and sealed. More than just a promise had been made here. Something important had just happened. Tim could feel the pounding of his heart growing louder in his ears the longer they held on. Distantly, he thought he heard an echo, of not one, but two hearts beating in time with his.

It was comforting, knowing his friends would always be with him.

An even larger wave took that moment to crash into all three of them, knocking them back into the tide pools. Tim spluttered as his mouth filled with water and he sat up, spitting it out. Dick and Jason were laughing at him.

“Silly human,” Dick teased, the incredible blue of his fins finally above the water where Tim could see it. “You’re supposed to swim in the water, not breathe it in.”

“I thought you said you’d breathe for me?” Tim spit again, trying to get the salty taste out of his mouth.

“In the deep water,” he replied with a grin, flashing sharp teeth as he rolled into a shallow pool. “What do you want to do now that you’re finally here?”

Jason flipped himself over, scales redder now that he was fully out of the water. “Did you bring cookies?”

Dick’s eyes widened. “Cookies! And what about those barrettes you told me about last year? I have shells I saved to braid into your hair.” He loved playing with Tim’s hair, as well as Jason’s when he could get away with it.

Tim stood and grinned down at his friends. The future could stay in the future, at least for now. Here in the present, things would go on the way they always had. Just him, Dick, and Jason. “I did, and shells are fine if you sucked the crabs out this time.”

#chibinightowl writes #Tim Drake #Jason Todd #Dick Grayson #Merfolk!AU #Fluff and friendship

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campchamps · 7 years

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#5 Parvin State Park, NJ

I know. I said we were going to be camping in Delaware this weekend... things change. We had an interesting experience at Parvin State Park in New Jersey, just 30 miles from Philadelphia. This was a real casual car camping trip, we didn’t even venture farther than the little lake outlook at the grounds and back.

Since we’ve never been here before, we thought we were being clever driving through the campsites before heading back to the park office. We scoped out a few sites we thought were nice and spread farther from the others, but our first choice was already reserved when we got to the office. We went with our second choice, site #5 because the third choice, site #15 was closer to the lake and we were still concerned about a chill at night. Note that #10, #11 and #13 are right on the waters edge for return trips, but #10 is next to the playground. Turns out, we probably should have gone with the other site because what we didn’t notice is that #5 is DIRECTLY on the trail.

Pictured: Our woods away from home. As you can see, the popular main trail that goes around the lake cuts right through the site. We’re calling this one “Camping: The Exhibit” because we were very much on display.

We could have moved to another site, but foot traffic didn’t pick up until after we had already set up our gear and we were lazy. It wasn’t terrible - most people were friendly and said hello, one person stopped to chat around the fire for a few minutes. But there were at least 50-60 people who passed by during the day, and starting very early in the morning on Sunday. Thankfully no one came by after it got dark (the park closes at dusk), but the thought was unsettling. Generally, it was more traffic than my little street in the city probably sees in a day. It was nice to be social, we also spoke with a woman when we were sitting next to the lake.

The lake itself was beautiful - I didn’t have my phone with me most of the weekend so of course I don’t have any photos to share. The weather was beautiful. I’m sure the water was cold, but it was a nice sunny clear day and night. We watched 2 flocks of geese who were hanging out with 4 large swans. Both women we spoke with told us the same story about how one of the swans was burned a few years ago, and they were glad it had healed and been released back. Warning, graphic swan injury. Really seems like they were beloved local creatures. We were told that on a nice cold day with sun, the turtles were probably sunning themselves on rocks on the other side of the lake. We saw a lot of interesting birds, including an egret or heron fly directly over us on it’s way to the lake. We also saw a lot of squirrels and a groundhog, and heard at least one great horned owl.

Ok on to the important thing... what we ate.

Camp Champs Chomps:

Saturday lunch: chicken salad sandwiches on rye bread, snacks

Saturday dinner: skillet black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, campfire rice

Sunday breakfast: scrambled eggs with onions and peppers, our homemade breakfast sausage patties, coffee

If you need to stay connected: T-Mobile and Sprint could send receive/texts, but no internet at camp

Useful maps: Remember to always visit the State Park website for the most up to date information.

Parvin State Park Campground Map

Parvin State Park Map - includes trails

#camping #camp champs #car camping #new jersey state park #new jersey #camp #parvin state park

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